With Fulham, Hammersmith shared in the incursion of the Danes in 879, and it is especially mentioned in the Chronicle of Roger de Hoveden that they wintered in the island of Hame, which Faulkner thinks is the ait or island near Chiswick, which, he says, must have considerably decreased in size during the nine centuries that have elapsed. In 1647 Cromwell removed his quarters from Isleworth to Hammersmith, and "when he was at Sir Nicholas Crispe's house, the headquarters were near the church." The general officers were quartered at Butterwick, now Bradmore House, then the property of the Earl of Mulgrave.
PERAMBULATION.--The first thing noticeable after crossing the boundary from Kensington is St. Paul's School. It stands on the south side of the road, an imposing mass of fiery red brick in an ornamental style. The present building was erected in 1884 by Alfred Waterhouse, and a statue to the memory of Dean Colet, the founder, standing within the grounds was unveiled in 1902. It was designed by W. Hamo Thornycroft, R.A. The frontage of the building measures 350 feet, and the grounds, including the site, cover six acres. Dr. John Colet, D.D., Dean of St. Paul's, founded his school in 1509 in St. Paul's Churchyard, but it is not known how far he incorporated with it the then existing choir-school. The number of his pupils was 153, in accordance with the number of fishes in the miraculous draught, and the foundation scholars are limited to the same number at the present day. The old school stood on the east side of St. Paul's Churchyard, and suffered so much in the Great Fire that it had to be completely rebuilt. When, in the nineteenth century, the site had become very valuable, the school was removed to Hammersmith, and its original site is now covered by business premises. Dean Colet endowed the foundation by leaving to it lands that were estimated by Stow to be worth £120 annually, and that are now valued at over £20,000. The school is governed under a scheme framed by the Charity Commissioners in 1900, and part of the income is diverted to maintain the new girls' school in Brook Green.
Lily, the grammarian, was the first headmaster, and the roll of the pupils includes many great names--the antiquaries Leland, Camden, and Strype; John Milton, prince of poets; Halley, the astronomer; Samuel Pepys; Sir Philip Francis, supposed author of the "Letters of Junius"; the famous Duke of Marlborough; among Bishops, Cumberland, Fisher, Ollivant and Lee; among statesmen, Charles, Duke of Manchester, Spencer Compton (Earl of Wilmington), Prime Minister; and Lord Chancellor Truro; also Sir Frederick Pollock, Lord Hannen, Sir Frederick Halliday, and Benjamin Jowett.